The Greatest Show on Earth No Longer

After reading in Time Magazine that the Ringling Brothers' Circus was to close down after 146 years I was somewhat saddened but not entirely surprised. I began to wonder why circus shows have lost favor in modern society. I figured it would make a good topic for this week's blog post after I found myself really trying to dissect what had happened and how I should feel about it.

The easy answer as to why circus shows have become less popular is obvious; tv shows, movies, video games, and the like have begun our new digital age of on-demand entertainment. Whereas at one time most people only had books and theatre to distract themselves from their everyday lives and struggles, we today can conjure an entirely different world to focus on in mere seconds. Yet, this is only one aspect.

Barnum & Bailey elephant show act circa 1900, Encyclopedia Britannica.(source)

One of the biggest reasons cited by the circus owners is that ticket sales drastically declined after the retirement of the elephant acts. After long battles with animal rights groups, after which their allegations of abuse have been proven false, the elephants were sent to a reserve in Florida where they could happily live out their days. However, even after the Ringling Bros gave in to those demands, attendance numbers sharply declined. This comes as an especially painful blow, as they had just announced their first female ringleader.

So, what do we have the circus to thank for? How should we remember it as an important feature of a bygone era? Well, originally the Ringling Bros competed with the Barnum and Bailey circus, PT Barnum's show centered around exotic animals and acts featuring stunts performed by animals and humans alike. The Ringling Bros began as jugglers and daredevils, but they didn't garner much attention until the purchase of their first elephant in 1888.

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey postcard circa 1931. (source)

At one time the show, which lasted for 3 hours, featured high-flying trapeze acts, stilt walkers, human oddities, carefully choreographed animal exhibitions, dancers, and magicians. In 1890 the most popular act was simply a dark room where people would pay to see the newly invented electric light bulb! This hardly even mentions the culture of side-shows, which focused more on the aforementioned human oddities, and other wonders considered too macabre or strange for everyday entertainment. Even Winston Churchill himself begged his parents to take him to see Barretta the "Boneless Wonder," though they denied him. (Library Source)

I think one of my favorite memories of circus culture is the colorful posters that enticed the local population to come see the wondrous show. These posters used such beautifully selective imagery and illustrations of the acts and actors, portrayed in a cartoonish caricature style that is similar to modern comic books. Today some of the most famous circus performers are memorialized only by these caricatures, as photography wasn't used in mainstream society until the very late 1800's. I believe that the very attitude of their showing, and us getting to witness, such amazing feats and acts will live on in our hearts for at least another generation. The sparkle and dazzle of lighting and sequined costumes forever reflected in our minds.

Circus poster lithograph featuring portraits of 5 of the Ringling Bros at left. (source)

Can You Hear the Music?

Music is a huge part of culture all over the world. It is used to expression emotions, passions, and can even signify major points in history. Music can also represent aspects of the culture it originates from. If you listen to music throughout history it tells a story of that time periods values, likes, dislikes and even trends. Many people interact with music on a daily bases. Music is everywhere from television, radio, social media, commercials, schools, social events, restaurants, and even in office buildings. There are people that simply connect on that general level of interactions and then people who connect much deeper. Some people find music to be fun to dance around and sing too; while some find it deeply emotionally moving.

My personal relationship with music began early in life. I took dance lessons throughout my child hood, which was where my initial relationship with music began. In the beginning, it was fun! I loved dancing to the music and enjoying the moment. When you're that young it is hard not to think upbeat pop music is fun. Many people that feel this way about music usually enjoy it in social institutions, we can call them the social listener for this explanation. This people simply think music is fun!

 As I grew older and fell deeper into the dance world, music began to connect with me on a deeper more meaningful level. At this point music began to inspire me to create and express something bigger. I was no longer just listening because it was "fun", but because it made me feel something, which I would later express in dance. Now not everyone expresses what music makes them feel through dance, there are many different outlets. Everything from poetry, writing, physically expressing emotions, speaking, exercise, and many many more.

I feel that my growing relationship with music easily shows a few different types of relationships that exist. Of course there are many more. For each different artist and genre of music, there are many different relationships. Some listen at the gym to get pumped up, some listen to feel something, some listen to create, some listen to distract them from life, and some listen simply because of the artist creating.

Heroes and Villains

If you watch a lot of movies and TV shows, read a lot of books or comics, then I must ask...who is your favorite hero and villain? There is a great reason I picked this topic to study, beyond my own interest in the subject. This can apply to any field of entertainment. Movies, books, TV, anime, comic-books, any form of media can cover the conflict between a hero and a villain.

Back in the day the conflict between a hero, or protagonist, and villain, or antagonist, was pretty black and white. The hero was a dashing, valiant, and brave man with a heart of gold. The villain is a devious, mustache-twirling man in a black hat, even in stories dating back centuries. Nowadays, it's not so simple. Both hero and villain is given depth.

Let me us an example with my favorite hero, Tony Stark/Iron Man, and my favorite villian, the Joker. In 2008's Iron Man, when we meet Tony Stark, he is a selfish egotistic weapons designer. After he is kidnapped by terrorists and learns his own weapons are being used to harm people, he gives up making weapons and creates Iron Man, a suit designed to help people. We see why he's a hero, how he became a hero, and in the end we are given a great character. While there are many interpretations of the Joker to use, I'll use my favorite, The Dark Knight Joker. In the film, the Joker lacks a moral compass. However, the film takes it a step forward to the point when not only does the Joker lack empathy, he thinks everyone does. To the Joker, people's codes and rules are a bad joke, and when pushed to the wall, they'll show their true colors and he wants to prove it. Both Iron Man and The Dark Knight craft interesting and endearing characters.

Somethings this conflict is even the main focus. Stories often thrive on the relationship and conflictbetween two conflicting sides. Often they can be simple good vs evil tales, or serve to show a greater symbol. Shows like Transformers and G.I. Joe are bad-guy vs good-guy stories, while No Country For Old Men and The Dark Knight use their conflict to to examine themes of human nature and violence. There can also be what the story had been building up and where the story could lead to. For example, the Harry Potter series builds on the battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort for seven books and eight movies.

I hope we can study this, as it does have a wide range. And every hero needs a villain. Every Sherlock Holmes needs a Professor Moriarty. Every Batman needs a Joker. Every Red Sox needs a Yankee. And Harry Potter needs a Lord Voldemort.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

            Baseball is one America’s favorite and oldest past times. There is tremendous history and tradition associated with the game, and compared to the other major sports in America, it is still mostly governed by its original rules and procedures. For me personally, there are many feelings affiliated with Baseball. When I think back to the late 90’s to mid 2000’s Boston Red Sox, I get a warm feeling of happiness. It reminds me of being in my late teen years and early twenties, watching this incredible group of players make history. It was so exciting, and was a visceral experience. When the Red Sox lost in 2003 to the Yankees, I felt like my heart had been ripped out. It was like time stopped until the next season. I knew they were going to win in 2004. There was zero doubt.

            It’s not just that I feel connected to this team through our shared failures and triumphs. It is also a source of pride for my home city, Boston. I lived in Colorado for a couple of years, and the pizza place I worked at was owned by a couple of guys from New Jersey. Most people from New Jersey are Yankees fans, and this is the rival team of the Red Sox. It was fun, having competitive banter with them. But more to the point, it gave me a sense of home when I was pretty far away from home. I could meet other folks coming into the restaurant who were from Boston, and we were able to have that nice moment of comradery. Being a fan of the Sox gave me a sense of home.

Another way that I engaged with Baseball back then was through fantasy sports. I don’t play so much anymore, as it tends to get pretty intense and laborious, but I had a few good years of playing. Baseball is full of so many interesting statistics, and there is so much more to observe and calculate than most sports. For example; when one is picking his quarterback to start on a given week in fantasy football, he is mostly just considering the health of the offense around the quarterback, and the other team’s defensive skill level. With Baseball and selecting a starting pitcher, you have to consider the stadium, the batting statistics of all nine players against your pitcher (as well as worrying about potential pinch hitters), your pitchers energy level, his teams bullpen, his teams offense, etc. It is more complicated, and there are so many more variables. Baseball appears to attract a more patient and analytic audience. What I enjoy about Baseball is that it manages to steer clear of some of that “meat head” mentality that is often associated with professional sports. 

Im locked up..they won't let me out

Film has always been an outlet for me. My father being a film producer would take me to classes with him at Hampshire and later on at Columbia. I watched him make films with meaning and purpose, to tell stories of those that did not get the recognition that they deserved.  I witnessed first hand the power of film and media. I made my first short film at 7, with one of my closest friends Alexis. There was no script, formal set or even great actors. We just went with what we were feeling at the time. At 7 why were we feeling like convicts? I am not sure, but the opening scene was me behind bars staring into the camera, with tears running down my eyes to show the pain. The bars were the second floor metal banisters and the hand cuffs were socks. Needless to say our creativity was on another level.

Why at 7 years old were we making movies about being in jail? Is it because something we watched that may not have been intended for us? Popular culture in 80's and 90's were to watch shows on crime. You had shows like Cops, and Law & Order that people were loving. But the effects of watching these shows have left more of an impression on us than we think. Did we think that maybe it was cool to creative violence and punishment for entertainment?

I anticipate learning more about the consequences of consuming unhealthy and uncensored media. I want to understand why our beliefs, culture and values are depicted in what we surround ourselves with.

Can’t this wait till I’m old, can’t I live while I’m young?

Can’t this wait till I’m old, can’t I live while I’m young?

Throughout my life, music has been paramount. It started at a young age, listening to Pink Floyd’s The Wall in the car with my Dad. As I got older and started to become an individual,

music became my identity. I wore band T-shirts and worn jeans and corduroys, scribbled band logos on my notebooks, grew my hair out, and started playing the guitar. I was on my way to being a non-conforming rocker!

In my junior year of high school, I dropped out of school and went on Phish tour. I had been introduced to the band several years prior by my sister, and so by the time I left high school I was already an avid fan.  I found an identity in that community that I could not find in the small town I was raised in. People were intelligent and thought outside of the box. They were conscious of the environment and their fellow man. I was completely immersed in an environment of like-minded people, and I took full advantage of that.

I do not expect that we will talk much about this particular culture in this class, but I see that we

will touch on fandom. I am going to be interested to learn about what other people invested their time and energy into, and what motivated that. For me it was just the love of the music and the message of the community. I will be interested to see what other people drew from their communities, and how it made them a happier or better person.

I Love Movies!

My name is Daniel Landers, and there's not much to say about me. I live in Danvers, have for all of my life, this is my second year at North Shore Community Colleges, and my favorite show is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Is there anything else...oh yeah, I LOVE MOVIES.

I am a proud and avid film goer, having had a great interest in films and film making in general. I have been since my childhood, I still hold found memories of me and my father going to the movies. I think my interest in film started when me and my father saw Finding Nemo in 2003, the textures and details put into the beautiful scenery of Finding Nemo gave a respect for film I hadn't felt. From then on, I was obsessed with movies.

Although Finding Nemo was the film that gave me my love of movies, it is not my favorite film. That title belongs to 2008's The Dark Knight. This film when it came out, and still to this day, amazes me. Christopher Nolan and crew not only took comic book movies to a whole new level, but crafted one of the best films in recent memory. They created this complex and captivating tale of good vs evil, terrorism, and the length people go to fight their greatest enemy. Now, addressing the elephant in the room, yes I do think the best part of this film is Heath Ledger's hypnotic performance as the seemingly demonic Joker. What can I say that hasn't already been said excepts that the film gave us one of cinema's greatest performances and villains.

While I could go on and on about every film I've seen and how great they are, I'll leave with this. I really can't wait to get to know you all and work with you.

Passion for Fashion

As lame as it sounds, I really do have a passion for fashion. Fashion and style in general are the most interesting pieces of pop culture to me. I've always been a creative person and just find fashion to be another outlet for me to express that. I love taking a little time each day to put together a look and decide what I want to feel like that day. I can feel anyway I want; anything from girly to edgy and everything in between. I also love looking back at old fashion, as it says so much about the time. Fashion can almost be looked at as a time stamp. If you look at any photo from the 90's, I guarantee you will be able to identify it is from the 90's. All photos used can be credit back to this page.

Fashion is something I only really started valuing in the past couple years. For me, and many others, it is a way to express yourself. Like any other artist, I am creating something. Except with fashion you can create something new everyday. I know not everyone cares about what they wear all that much; but weather you are thinking about it or not, what you wear says something about you. I find myself feeling so much more confident when I love my outfit. This allows me to try something new or even to put myself out there in a crowd.

Although I don't think we will focus much on fashion in this class, I do think I can still learn a lot. Fashion is something that impacts our daily lives, it marks historic time periods, and even big moments in pop culture. Regardless of what we are learning about, if it involves humans, I'm sure I can pick up something about fashion

I Am A Cosplayer and I'm Not Sorry

Firstly, I apologize if this comes out in a terrible format because I have never really "blogged" before, so I hope the technical aspects take care of themselves.

As per the title of this post, I can confirm that the area of pop culture that interests me the most is Cosplay. For those who have never heard this term before, it is the combined concept of "costume" and "roleplay," meaning that you not only dress as a character that you like, but you act like them, and while dressed you do your best to fully become them. Now, there are definitely many different levels to this act, as any beginner or casual fan could tell you but that shall remain a topic for another time. I will simply state that I would consider myself at the upper echelon of cosplay, in that I try to make my costume as accurate as I can and do try to speak or act as that character would most of the time.

Myself as Maya the Siren from the "Borderlands" video game series at Boston Comic Con 2015.

Cosplay is important to me for more intrinsic reasons than I could probably count, but the most major reason is that it is very social by nature, there are thousands and millions of others who like to wear costumes to conventions and I just plain love making friends! Secondly, it speaks volumes to my artistic nature; not everyone endeavors or is capable of making their own costumes, but it is an artistic challenge that I thoroughly enjoy testing myself on.

Myself, my husband Nick, and friend Sammy as characters from "Metro 2033" and "Fallout" at PAX East 2016.

As to what I expect to learn - conversely I intend to include the things I know in order to contribute to the amazing discussions we are about to share and I expect to learn more about the things I have likely been avoiding. For instance, I have never been particularly fond of zombies. The original idea of roaming deceased humans is wildly entertaining, but I feel it has become very overrated. The market has been completely saturated with zombie-themed things and frankly, I quickly tired of it. However, I promise to give it another chance as perhaps one of my classmates enjoys that part of pop culture and would be willing to elaborate in order to convert me :)

Myself at Boston Comic Con as Ezio from the "Assassin's Creed" video game series at Boston Comic Con 2015.